Academic Misconduct and Penalties
KMUC considers academic honesty to be one of its highest values. Though not a comprehensive or exhaustive list, the following are examples of dishonesty or unethical and unprofessional behavior:
To ensure that students are treated fairly and equitably, academic misconduct is divided into the following three types:
- Academic Negligence: This is regarded as the least serious offence and covers first time minor offences. It includes plagiarism that is small in scale, not related to the work of other students, and which is considered to have resulted from ignorance or carelessness.
- Academic Malpractice: This covers extensive paraphrasing of material with no acknowledgement of the source, systematic failure to reference, submitting work which has already been submitted for another assignment, and subsequent cases of Academic Negligence.
- Academic Cheating: This is regarded at the most serious offence and covers Plagiarism in dissertations/final year projects/taught doctorate modules, collusion with other students, theft, commissioning/purchasing work, falsification of results/data, and all examination irregularities.
Disciplinary actions are applicable to students who are both directly or indirectly involved in any academic misconduct. Generally, academic misconduct cases will be administered in accordance to the processes set out in the Operations Manual except for the specific cases detailed below:
1. Plagiarism
Using another person’s words, ideas, or results without giving proper credit to that person; giving the impression that it is the student’s own work. Students are expected to be the sole authors of their work. Use of another person’s work or ideas must be accompanied by specific citations and references.
2. Self-plagiarism
Submitting the same assignment for more than one class without enhancing and refining the assignment, and without first receiving instructor permission constitutes self-plagiarism. In cases where previous assignments are allowed to be submitted for another class, it is the responsibility of the student to enhance the assignment with additional research such that it is a sufficiently new piece of work.
Findings of plagiarism will remain on a student’s record permanently.
Penalties for Plagiarism in Proprietary Programmes (Advanced Diploma and Diploma Programmes)
Plagiarism is a serious offence and may result in the following sanctions:
| Occurrences of Plagiarism | Penalty for Academic Offence | Remarks |
| 1st Occurrence | No Academic Offence will be recorded | Student will receive notification letter that plagiarism has been committed. Student should study the Writing & Referencing guides and online resources made available for them. |
| 2nd Occurrence* | Warning Letter | The student is required to attend a Writing and Referencing Session (WRS). The student will be allowed to resubmit the paper after appropriate intervention. Re-submission paper marks will be capped at Pass grade. Re-module is required, if the student failed to attend the WRS. |
| 3rd Occurrence | Failure of the module in which the action occurred | The student is required to re-module. |
| 4th Occurrence | Termination of enrolment | For student pass holders, ICA will be notified to terminate student pass. |
3. Collusion
Students must assume that collaboration in the completion of written assignments is prohibited unless explicitly permitted by the instructor. Students must acknowledge any collaboration and its extent in all submitted assignments. Students are subject to disciplinary action if they:
- submit as their own work via a paper purchased from a term paper company, an or multiple individuals or download from the Internet;
- submit an assignment that was partially or wholly completed by another individual or other individuals;
- assist another student wherein the other student intends to commit any act of academic dishonesty. This offence would include, but is not limited to, providing an assignment to another student to submit as his or her own work or allowing another student to copy answers to any test, examination, or assignment.
Penalties for Collusion Misconduct
Collusion is a serious offence and may result in the following sanctions:
First offence:
Failure in the assessment item in which the offence occurred and student is required to re-module.
Second offence:
Kaplan Myanmar will issue a written statement to notify the student that his or her attendance has been terminated for violation of the academic policy; i.e. the student will be expelled from Kaplan Myanmar.
4. Examination Misconduct
Invigilator reports exam misconduct case through the Exam Incident Report and submit to Exams Office for investigation and warning letter preparation.
The warning letter is prepared according to the academic policy and to submit to HOD or nominated academic staff for approval before sending to student.
Penalties for Examination Misconduct
Examination misconduct is a serious offence and may result in the following sanctions:
First offence:
Failure in the assessment item in which the offence occurred and student is required to re-module; or Suspension/Expulsion for serious academic misconduct determined by Examination Board, such as impersonation of another student.
Second offence:
Kaplan will issue a written statement to notify the student that his or her attendance has been terminated for violation of the academic policy; i.e. the student will be expelled from Kaplan, with notification to the ICA for student pass holders.
The appeal procedure will apply if student wishes to appeal on the penalty or determination. Findings of academic misconduct will remain on a student’s record permanently.
University Partner Programmes
Penalties for university partner programmes on academic misconduct offences will be in accordance to the university partners’ respective policies.